House File 440 - Enrolled House File 440 AN ACT RELATING TO TUITION, DEGREE PROGRAMS, EMPLOYMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS PERTAINING TO STUDENTS ENROLLED AT REGENTS INSTITUTIONS. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: Section 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “College Affordability Act”. Sec. 2. Section 262.9, subsection 19, paragraph a, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: a. Not less than thirty days prior to action by the board on any proposal to increase tuition, fees, or charges at one or more of the institutions of higher education under its control, send written notification of the amount of the proposed increase including a copy of the proposed tuition increase docket memorandum prepared for its consideration to the presiding officers of the student government organization of the affected institutions. The final decision on an increase in tuition or mandatory fees charged to all students at an institution for a fiscal year shall be made at a regular
House File 440, p. 2 meeting and shall be reflected in a final docket memorandum that states the estimated total cost of attending each of the institutions of higher education under the board’s control. The regular meeting shall be held in Ames, Cedar Falls, or Iowa City and shall not be held during a period in which classes have been suspended for university holiday or break. The final decision on an increase in tuition charged to all students at an institution for a fiscal year shall be made at a regular meeting held no later than April 30 of the previous fiscal year. Sec. 3. Section 262.9, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsections: NEW SUBSECTION . 39. Direct each institution of higher education governed by the board to begin efforts to offer at least one baccalaureate degree program that can be completed in three years. NEW SUBSECTION . 40. Direct each institution of higher education governed by the board to begin implementation of at least one work study program whereby a student engages in part-time employment while pursuing a degree with the employer being financially responsible for the student’s tuition and mandatory fees during semesters in which the student is employed by the employer. Sec. 4. INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNED BY THE STATE BOARD OF REGENTS —— UNDERGRADUATE TUITION —— STUDY. 1. The state board of regents shall conduct a study on establishing a policy whereby the tuition amount charged to students classified as residents that is charged to an undergraduate student in the student’s first academic year of enrollment will not increase in the student’s subsequent academic years of undergraduate enrollment for three consecutive academic years. 2. The study shall include projections of how much such a policy would increase enrollment at each of the institutions of higher education governed by the board, the technical feasibility of such a policy, the cost of implementation of such a policy, and the results of implementation of similar policies in other states.
House File 440, p. 3 3. The board shall submit a report on the results of the study to the governor and the general assembly no later than November 30, 2025. ______________________________ PAT GRASSLEY Speaker of the House ______________________________ AMY SINCLAIR President of the Senate I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and is known as House File 440, Ninety-first General Assembly. ______________________________ MEGHAN NELSON Chief Clerk of the House Approved _______________, 2025 ______________________________ KIM REYNOLDS Governor